About Verde
by ninetytwochairsonetable
Summary: "Verde, who had finally gathered the courage to walk in to face six whole strangers, was starting to regret everything. Everything as in everything since he was seven years old. One could say he was having another midlife crisis at that exact moment." Verde the anxious. T for language. Cover art is mine.
1. It Was a Mistake to Come Here

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

Also, I apologize for any mistakes.

* * *

Chapter 1: It Was a Mistake to Come Here

Meeting times are set so that people are able to successfully meet up with one another at the same time. That is probably why it is called 'meeting time.'

Five minutes late, understandable. Ten minutes, too. Fifteen might be pushing it a bit. By twenty minutes past the agreed upon meeting time, one would start wondering.

But a few people in this particular group of six skipped vague curiosity to straight up pissed three minutes after the meeting time that _someone_ had the _nerve_ to be late to this very important meeting.

The meeting of the Strongest Seven.

* * *

You know that feeling of needles pricking your skin, not enough to break the surface but enough to be really really really irritating and extremely uncomfortable? Yeah, like that. Times a million. But add in the heat of the sun, hot enough to boil an egg. Maybe burn. And also the fact you're late to some life changing, very important meeting.

It wasn't Verde's fault he was late. Not really. You see, the weight of crippling anxiety and the looming threat of possible humiliation cemented this poor soul to the spot he stood. Which was approximately 8 feet away from the meeting place. But hey, he did his best.

* * *

In the distance, Checkerface. He watches the scientist do a strange dance of one-step-forward-wait-nevermind!-retreat. He watches as he contemplates helping but discards the thought immediately after remembering the first time they met. Tears were shed that day.

* * *

"Late. Forty-seven minutes now." That's Lal Mirch, COMSUBIN. She wasn't exactly pissed. Just very frustrated and might shoot when the last member arrives.

And then! The door opened to reveal the long awaited seventh member of the Strongest Seven. Who appears to be sweating buckets with frantic eyes, clutching the spot above his heart.

* * *

Verde, who had finally gathered the courage to walk in to face six whole strangers, was starting to regret everything. Everything as in everything since he was seven years old. One could say he was having another midlife crisis at that exact moment.

Not that he would actually breakdown right there. There were six whole strangers staring at him with what seemed to him like sadistic glee.

"You're late. Care to share why?" That's Reborn, hitman. Unlike Lal, he was indeed, pissed and will shoot the last member. Just because he's like that. In Skull the stuntman's private opinion, Reborn is an ass.

You're doing great, Verde. Just calmly explain why you were late and they will understand like the reasonable people they are.

"My heart was in pain."

Nailed it!

* * *

You know that feeling of being buried beneath weighted blankets in summer while laying on two heating pads? Boy, the tension in that room was high and heavy. For a reason Verde would have never even thought of.

'? That guy's one of the Strongest Seven? This sick guy?' was basically what everyone was thinking. Except they over thought it and somehow came to the conclusion, 'This guy is one the Strongest Seven despite being sick. He must be hella strong.'

And so, everyone kept a careful eye on Verde, which caused this poor soul to feel even more self-conscious.

* * *

The silence lasted maybe eleven minutes. In those eleven minutes, Verde was able to sit down, stare straight ahead, avoid everyone's piercing eyes, and rethink the life choices that somehow led to this. He even came up with five different ways his life could have gone. One of them included pigeons, a three inch beard, and an assortment of dirty wizard hats. The dirty part was the most crucial part.

Luce, bless her heart, broke that insufferable silence with, "Let's introduce ourselves. I'll go first. My name is Luce, current boss of Giglio Nero!" Bless her heart less. Now Verde has to talk and make sense and just, generally be an average human being.

Though, the 'boss of Giglio Nero' part got him thinking. Sounds familiar, doesn't it, Verde? Like the mafia. You deal with mafia all the time. You sell them your machines. Just saying your name is no big deal, right?

Wrong.

Verde, intelligent as ever, thought, 'Maybe this is all some sort of joke. There's no way _the_ boss of any mafia famiglia would be in the same meeting as me.' You're a genius, Verde!

"Chaos [?]. Reborn, World's Greatest Hitman."

Yeah, this is all probably just a silly game.

"Lal Mirch, COMSUBIN."

See, even that scary lady is joking around. COMSUBIN in the same room, sitting civilly, as a hitman and a mafia boss? Yeah. Haha, no way.

"Hello, my name is Fon. I practice martial arts."

Oh, that guy's not cracking jokes. Or maybe he is.

"I am Skull, the greatest stuntman you will ever lay your eyes upon!"

Wow! That's just- like, wow!? That _has_ to be a joke! Why would this successful person be in the same vicinity as Verde?

"Viper. If you want any more information, you'll have to pay me."

See, even that creepy guy in the hood knows how to use a bit of humor. Even Verde can manage that! Right? Right?!

Nope.

* * *

Look at them, Verde. Just look at them. They're all looking at you. Everyone. They're waiting for you, so hurry up. Say your name. That's it! Just your name and everyone still stop looking.

"Verde."

Good job, Verde. You done it. A bit terse but that's all right. You done it and that's all that matters.

Except they're still looking at you. Why?

* * *

Verde is in a bit of trouble. He can't figure out why everyone is still staring at him. Obviously, they want something from him. Or maybe he has something on his face. That is so embarrassing. If that's the case, he swears he will never leave the safety of his labs for at least three more months.

* * *

While Verde was having an internal panic, everyone else was trying their very best to recall if Verde is part of the mafia or a mere civilian like the stuntman/child/teen/civilian.

Verde. Verde? Have they heard of a Verde? From his outfit, possibly a doctor. Maybe even a scientist. Smells a bit like grease, metal, and some sort of chemical.

Aside from Skull, everyone's heard of each other, being so ingrained in the underworld. But Verde? A mystery. Even that Viper the informant seems to have a bit of trouble placing a label on this Verde guy.

Surprisingly, or maybe not that surprisingly, it was Skull who had the brilliant idea of just asking Verde who he is. That's what civilians do. Ask questions instead of trying to dissect everything to pieces in silence when presented with an unknown and possible threat.

"So, uh. What do you do, Verde?" A reasonable question from a perhaps reasonable person.

* * *

The average person would have simply replied with whatever their occupation is. Verde, however, is not the average person. He has difficulty interacting with people, even for the most basic tasks. That's why he's a recluse. Which happens to be a reason why none of the others have heard of him despite his contributions to the underworld.

'Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. They want me to talk. Again. It hasn't even been a full minute since I last said something. Oh NO. What should I say? Most of them said something like a joke or just something kinda funny. So I should say something funny, too. But wait! What if they're not actually joking? What if they accuse me of lying later on?' Someone save him. At this rate, Verde is bound to start crying.

* * *

It was a tense moment once more. Everyone watching with eagle eyes, figuratively sitting on the edges of their seats. Observing Verde. Consequently putting him on edge. Not that they knew this.

And Verde, our unfortunate being, dished out a truth lightly sprinkled in humor.

"I used to cut people apart and give them a little gift." (Translation: I used to perform surgery and give prosthetics to people in need.) And add a little smile so they know he's being funny. Once again, you've outdone yourself, Verde. A job well done. They have to be satisfied now.

* * *

While Verde was congratulating himself, everyone else was not as happy. In fact, they were a bit disgusted and maybe slightly frightened. Not that any of them would ever admit that.

Even the great Reborn, the Number One Hitman who has faced the mafia's big shots and survived through the most difficult of jobs, felt uncomfortable in this man's presence. He just admitted to human experimentation. And what are these little gifts? A bomb? Inside his victims? That's probably it. And who the hell smiles while saying something like that? Conclusion: Verde's a sadistic monster.

Skull, meanwhile, had his hope of forming a normal-people-united camaraderie with another person shattered to smithereens and blown away that very instance.

And that was how Verde's first time socializing in one year nine months three weeks and one day began.


	2. With Luce & Some Misunderstandings

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

I apologize for any mistakes.

Also, by the way. Verde in this fic is not shy. He has social anxiety disorder. It causes a lot of problems for him. The alternative title for this is "Verde the Anxious." But other than that, thank you everyone so much for the review, follows, and favorites. One of the guests left a very interesting review regarding Verde and Squalo, if anyone wants to check that out.

(Chapter 1.5 is just an extra bit that didn't really fit in anywhere.)

* * *

Chapter 1.5: With Luce

Being the boss of a mafia famiglia. Well, you see some shit. It's not pretty. No matter how nice and kind and pleasing a person, if they're mafia, they've seen shit and probably done shit, too. That's how it is.

And Luce. Man. She really seen some shit. Like, future shit. Insane, right?

* * *

It should be said that seeing a vision with some supernatural ability is different from seeing in person.

Luce was dreading that meeting. Especially since she saw a civilian child involved in this mess. She thought she could handle it but seeing that still maturing face, she thought she was going to cry right there. But as a mafia boss, she's better than that. So she stayed strong. If not for herself, for the child and everyone else. Even if they don't harmonize, she is a Sky nonetheless.

What her vision failed to tell her was Verde's inability to socialize like a normal human being. And his tardiness.

Waiting for Verde was uncomfortable. Discomfort generally manifests like a plague when seven strangers are told to meet but one is missing so they hold off the introduction and end up sitting in awkward silence for forty-seven minutes.

* * *

Luce's not a bad person. Really. So when someone came through the door at last, her natural reaction was to get up and worry. She didn't actually get up but she did worry. That person, who she recognized as the one they were waiting for, was sweating a lot with a pained expression, clutching at the heart.

And when questioned his tardiness, answered with 'my heart was in pain,' some alarm bells started ringing. First an unrelated child, and now an ailing man? This generation of the Arcobaleno might cause more problems than solve them.

* * *

During introductions, Verde seemed comfortable just listening and not saying more than necessary.

(In truth, 'comfortable' would be the furthest thing from this poor soul. Verde would rather be browsing the gardening section of a store to pick out the best shovel to dig his grave with. He was even thinking of all the ways an alien spaceship could land two meters behind him and cause a commotion he could use to run away.)

When asked about what he does, his response was… unsettling. Yup. Human experiments aren't exactly common but they do happen. And the kind that execute them should be kept at a distance. They are dangerous people. It wasn't very pleasant being associated as someone like that.

But Luce knew what her duty was. She'd stick with it. Even if it meant breathing in the same room as Verde.

* * *

Chapter 2: Please Clear Some Misunderstandings

Awkward, tense silences seem to be some sort of running joke in this group and it's only been like, an hour since they met. After Verde's very helpful input, the temperature seemed to have dropped a Celsius with everyone scooting one and a half centimeter away from him. That, as you may have guessed by now, sent some distress signals through Verde.

'Maybe I'm not supposed to joke. I must've missed some information. I'm out of the loop. I wish that Checkers guy told me more. I shouldn't have come here. I want to leave but if I leave now, everyone will look at me and think, "Wow, that Verde is such a jerk. Doesn't even want to get to know us better. Thinks he's worthy enough to just leave. What a snob, that Verde."'

* * *

While he was going through monologues in his head, everyone decided it'd be best to ignore him for the moment and carry on like relatively normal people.

"Hey, kid. You sure you're supposed to be here?" Lal asked Skull.

Skull looked at her for a short moment. How was he supposed to know? Maybe the client made a mistake, who knows. But whatever it is, it's not his fault.

"Yeah, I am. I got the same invitation as you!"

"Hah! You're just some noisy kid," Reborn the ass joined the conversation. "You know, since you're obviously the weakest out of us, you can be our personal servant. A lackey!"

Now, Skull may in fact be the weakest in the group and also of civilian background, but that was no reason to treat him like he was beneath them. It must count as something to be at least the seventh strongest in the entire human population, right? It seems Reborn did not get that memo. Neither did much of the others it seems.

"Get me espresso, lackey. Surely, even you can manage that much." Hoo boy. He sure grates on Skull's nerves. Just when he was about to protest, everyone suddenly thought Skull the lackey was a wonderful idea.

"Get me water while you're at it," Viper was quickly becoming 'ass the second.'

"Hey, wait-" Skull's protests went unheard.

"Ah, if it's not too much trouble, could you get some tea?" Luce is a pregnant woman. She's excused.

"You can just call the service people-" It's Interrupt Skull Day.

"Can you get an extra tea cup for me?" Fon. Are you meaning to take up the title of 'ass the third?'

"Water." Something about Lal just makes you want to obey her every commands. Probably because she's a leader. And her glare. She could probably kill a man just by looking at him.

* * *

Back to Verde. Not that he did much during this conversation. He wasn't even listening that closely and when Skull glanced toward his direction with an almost expectant look, Verde regretted not listening as closely. Such is his life.

Think, Verde! Skull probably wants to know if you want something to eat and/or drink. You can't possibly impose yourself on him like this. But this is an opportunity to escape for a little moment.

Now, politely decline.

* * *

"I don't want anything from you." Verde, you fool. The boy looks like you offended him and his eight generations of livestock ranching. Quickly, rectify your mistake.

"I'll get it myself." Good enough.

* * *

Not good. Not good at all.

You've failed to take into consideration the awkward ride on the elevator with Skull. Should've taken the stairs. Admittedly, it wouldn't have been as awkward if Skull wasn't constantly peeking at Verde from the corner of his eyes and the fact the elevator had mirrors on three sides. Verde could only curse (in his head) the meeting place being on the thirteenth floor. How lucky.

* * *

'How unlucky,' thought Skull. Not only was he a designated lackey, he was also stuck in one of the most awkward places with The Immoral CreepTM.

"It's not that I really want to, but I could've gotten whatever for you. You know, since I'm already going down anyway." You go, Skull. Make small talk. Mr. I-used-to-cut-people-apart doesn't seem to mind too much.

When no answer came, Skull just kept on going. Anything to fill the empty air.

"I don't get why they're treating me like this. I'm the greatest stuntman, you know? I'm really good at what I do. I really am. Just because I can't shoot a fly from like, a mile away doesn't mean I'm inferior." Yes, keep talking. Just keep-

Just then, a sharp breath of intake froze Skull mid sentence. Shit. He done goofed. Mr. I-use-people-like-lab-rats-most-likely-without-their-consent is going to-

"They might've asked you to get their drinks because you are a civilian and as a civilian the probability of you spiking their drinks with something dangerous is unlikely. It might do you well if you watch their drinks being prepared closely. Just in case."

* * *

Verde, why would you do this? How far do you want to dig? You interrupted him. Bow your head in shame and think about what you've done.

* * *

It wasn't that Skull was bothered by the interruption itself. It was more that Verde had word vomited something really quickly in one breath and Skull needed a moment to process what was just said.

"Oh. Well. I guess that makes sense." It did. But that doesn't mean Skull has to like playing fetch-my-grade-A-espresso.

* * *

While Verde was reflecting on his rude behavior, he remembered something important. He left the Bunsen burner on before he left. Heck. He can see the headlines already. 'Careless loner sets entire private laboratory and surrounding area on fire. Causes massive irrevocable damage to local wildlife and settlements.' More than a lifetime supply of embarrassment (and damage).

As the elevator reached the first floor, Verde possibly made the bravest decision that day. Also probably the least thought out decision, considering his mind was more focused on accidentally creating another doorway to hell on Earth.

A decision to be the first one to leave.

"I have to go." Yes, clear and precise.

"Huh? Already? It hasn't been that long," Skull hesitantly answered. It's not like he wants Verde around but he's not going to be rude to his face. Don't you know what happens to people who are rude to werido creepo murderers? They go missing. Happens all the time. In scripts.

Verde, it's just like before. Say the reason why and he will- they all will understand.

"Hellfire."

* * *

A short glimpse into Verde's mind at that moment:

'-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-'

* * *

And there he goes, speed walking out of there, no longer able to stand making an even bigger fool out of himself.

Skull could do nothing more than watch. And then promptly get back to lackey-duty.

* * *

When Skull came back with all the drinks, it was Viper, suspicious of Verde's lack of information, who asked about him.

"Where is Verde?"

"I think he left."

"Why?"

"Uhh, he said 'Hellfire' and left. Looked like he was in a hurry." That certainly got everyone's attention. What does that mean? Hellfire? And what's the rush?

"Haha, maybe the building's gonna blow or something," Skull joked.

It was a joke.

The first meeting of the Strongest Seven ended with the evacuation of the entire building and everyone within a two mile radius.


	3. Hopefully We can Reach an Understanding

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

I apologize for any mistakes.

Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and faves! I really appreciate all the feedback. And wow! this week is passing like a kidney stone! Hope everyone is having a better week than me haha. This part isn't relevant but I thought it was interesting so I want to share. I will die if I ever go out to a fraternity/sorority party, but one of my roommates, who also has anxiety, will always go out on the weekends! Haha, yeah. But we both dread making phone calls.

* * *

Chapter 3: Hopefully We Can Reach an Understanding

Missions. Jobs. Objectives.

When Verde was requested to meet up a second time, it was approximately one month and two weeks after the first. By this point, the others had already met up three or even four times. (Turns out, his burner was not on. And due to his embarrassment at jumping to conclusions and rash behavior, he completely isolated himself from the living world. Even from Checkerface. Somehow. His luck's run out now, though.)

So here he is, early for once (by three minutes). At some abandoned warehouse. He questions why he's there and wonders (panics) if he's got the wrong place.

But worry not, Verde! Look over there. It's Fon and Lal. This must be the place. Unless they just happen to be chilling there.

Even Reborn is coming in now. This is, for sure, the right place.

* * *

"You're late, Reborn," said Lal. It's only the second time seeing her, but Verde thinks she should lighten up her frown a bit. Frowning all the time can get tiring.

"No, no. I'm stylishly on time. You were just early." Wow. This Reborn man knows his stuff. Maybe one day, Verde can be as cool as the hitman. Maybe in his dream one day. He can hope.

* * *

Reborn was having an average day, in a neutral mood. Until he saw Verde. That man did not make the best first impression.

"No, no. I'm stylishly on time. You were just early." A cool remark.

Why is Verde looking at him like that. Those dead eyes lost a bit of that perpetually bored glaze and the madman is looking at him.

'Don't tell me… I'm his next victim.' That day, Reborn swore if Verde did anything out of line, Reborn would mark him a personal target on his head.

* * *

Verde ponders once more where in his life he fucked up to be where he is now. Which is sitting next to Fon, twenty inches apart, in the halls of some shady mafia famiglia's side mansion thing waiting for Lal and Reborn to clear the path to the main controls room.

'It might be that time I first went to self-island,' Verde mused.

"What is that?" Heck, that scared him. It's just Fon. Who is now talking to him. Double heck. Hurry and say something before he thinks you're weird.

"What?" You are as smart as ever, Verde.

"Self-island. What is it?" Verde must've said that outloud. Triple heck!

Quick, Verde! Speak! There's only Fon. One person. You can manage this conversation. It's not like you're going to humiliate yourself in front of some large crowd. Just Fon. You might, instead, humiliate yourself on a more personal level...

* * *

Fon is a calm man. He is able to think things through in logical steps. He is also not as quick to judge others. That may be why he is the one waiting with Verde at that exact time and place. (Reborn looked like he would rather drink only canned coffee for the entire year than wait with Verde.)

So when he heard some mutterings from Verde, he thought, 'we may not be friends, but at least we can be colleagues on good term.'

"Self-island. What is it?"

It was dark in the hall so Verde's panicked twitching of the eyes went mostly unseen. Mostly.

"It's just what I call it when I go into isolation." New bit of information: Verde appears to go into isolation frequently enough to give it an endearing term.

"Is that so? Why did you go to self-island the first time?" Fon asked out of a mix of curiosity, boredom, and the concept of 'get to know your possible enemy before making a move' thing.

In the dark, he could make out a slight darkening of Verde's face. Was he… embarrassed?

"Someone said my hair looked like a spot of mold and laughed at me."

Out of all the possibilities Fon prepared himself for, this was not one of them.

"Ah… How old were you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Eight."

There was nothing more to be said. Verde was on the verge of tears, and Fon had enough sense to drop this conversation.

* * *

"All clear," Lal said through the earpiece. "You two can come over now. Take a left at the third intersection, first door on the right."

Lal's static voice tore through the air like a godsend.

* * *

To be honest, Reborn wasn't the only one specially uneasy around Verde. So was Lal. Maybe it had something to do with being on the same 'team' as an unknown who is most likely connected to the underworld. Or maybe it was because he appeared physically weak. The weak won't survive (but Verde the 'weak man' is still here and alive. What does that mean?).

Or maybe it was Verde's eyes. Those cold, dead, calculating eyes.

When Verde and Fon rejoined the other pair, Lal got straight down to business. Verde admires that quality very much.

"This is the main controls room. They bought most of their technology from Delta. Verde, do you know who Delta is?" Everyone (i.e., everyone but Verde) understood this as an attempt to determine if Verde was mafia or not. Everyone related to the mafia knew Delta. Their security softwares, tracking devices, and other pieces were infamous. No one could get past them (which is why only the big shot famiglia's could afford them).

One blank stare later, "No."

It was then determined Verde was most likely a civilian. A dark, inhumane scientist. But a civilian nonetheless.

"Anyway, this will be a big problem. Anyone here good at hacking?"

Silence.

* * *

Verde's brain is always working hard. It even works overtime. Unnecessarily. And it doesn't even get paid.

'I know how to hack. But am I good enough? No one else is saying anything, so does that mean they're not good enough? Wait, but if no one mans the computers, we can't progress on whatever we're doing here. What are we doing here? Oh yeah. Blueprints. Schematics. Evil, nefarious mafia plans. Oh no, should I speak up on this? What if I fail them? But I can try? I even brought my laptop and stuff. This Delta person is really good, so I can try my best and they won't be as angry if I fail, right? Right?'

Right you are, Verde. You can try.

* * *

Reborn could hack. But hack into Delta's? Not at all. He's tried. Multiple times. Reborn prides himself on his wide variety of abilities, but even he knows his limits. When Verde made a strange noise of vague affirmation, Reborn put aside his disdain for the man and volunteered to stay as guard. If Verde can really do this, well. That means Reborn gets to watch a free lesson.

"All right then. Go on." said Lal. And with that, all eyes on Verde. Heck. Or should he say, 'Hack.' Haha… Now is not the time, Verde.

The computers were already running. All Verde had to do was connect it to his and proceed from there. Go step by step, one by one. Like instructions from a textbook. You can do it, Verde!

* * *

The other three watched carefully as Verde booted his laptop. That's some hella fast laptop. And they watched him type. This man could be the fastest typer ever. Impressive. Very impressive.

It'd been around four minutes when Verde broke the silence with an "Oh."

"What?" Reborn demanded.

"I'm in."

* * *

After the shock wore off, Fon and Lal went off according to Verde's directions. Meanwhile, Reborn was trying to get Verde to talk. About anything at this point. But having a proper conversation with Verde can sometimes feel like shouting at a person from the bottom of a well while that person has a bucket on their head and anything they say comes out incoherent. In other words, frustrating and impossible.

Fine. If Verde's not going to respond to 'how's the weather,' then perhaps he'll talk if it's something he's interested in. Such as-

"Any new victims lately?" Reborn asked with extreme nonchalance.

* * *

A pause.

"Excuse me?" Verde is confused. That's not good. At first he was just puzzled by Reborn's sporadic shifts in topics. (When he asked about hacking and coding, Verde was thinking about how to phrase his answer. But while he was thinking, Reborn suddenly switched to asking about favorite cafes and drinks and guns and weathers. Which was fine and all, Verde just needed a little time to think through his answers.) But now he's asking about victims? What?

"You mentioned cutting people up during your introduction. Anyone new?"

Verde would never forget that day and the things he said that day. It played on repeat in his head for the entire duration of his isolation.

"Oh, do you mean my patients?"

"Patients," Reborn parroted. "They volunteer?"

"Yes." It came out more like a question. Verde's mind went on a tangent wondering if his patients really truly gave permission. "I stopped doing that kind of thing couple years ago."

"What do you do now?" Everything Reborn says sounds like commands to Verde. What an intimidating man.

"I- Fon, there's a group of four coming from the next intersection from your right."

Static, static, crackle. Whoever made these earpieces could do a better job. Or let Verde take over (but he would never. That'd be like forcible taking someone's job).

"We see them. Thanks." Despite the uncomfortable conversation, Verde thinks Fon is the nicest person he's talked to in a long time.

"You…?" prompted Reborn. Oh yeah.

"I develop technology and sell them." This should be a good answer.

"Like Delta. You must be pretty skilled at what you do. Perhaps even on Delta's level." Now that Verde is finally talking, Reborn can actually start digging for information.

"Oh. Um. Thanks? It was kinda simple, though." To Reborn, Verde sounded like an arrogant asshat. Only Reborn is allowed to be an arrogant asshat in this room.

"This Delta person's coding was exactly the same as mine. Maybe this guy is stealing from me…"

* * *

What? Delta and Verde's codes are the same? Is Delta really stealing from Verde? Or could it be that they are the same person? But Verde doesn't know about Delta. Unless he's feigning ignorance.

"Verde, who do you sell to?"

"The mafia mostly."

"Ah, so you _are_ mafia."

"Well, I'm not part of any mafia famiglia but I am connected to the mafia in general…" Verde trailed off. All this talking was wearing him down. Would it be acceptable for Verde to stop talking to take a breather and Reborn to wait patiently?

"We're heading back." Lal is an angel.

* * *

The job was done and finished. And Verde got the hell out of there. Which left the other three to stare after him in mild surprise at his speed.

"He's mafia," Reborn shared. There was an unspoken solidarity against Verde.

"It's strange, then, that he doesn't know about Delta." Lal replied.

"He also said Delta's codes are the same as his."

"A peculiar case this is turning out to be." It seems Verde unknowingly became a case for the other members.

"If he is mafia, he should know about flames then," Fon joined.

"Verde is Lightning," Lal remarked. Out of the six (excluding Luce), Lal was the best at sensing flame types.

"… It feels like the client is gathering a full set." Reborn did not like the idea of that. Nor did the others, but there's not much they could do about that.


	4. Verde Would Hide Indefinitely

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

I apologize for any mistakes.

Thank you for all the feedback! A kind person let me know about the notification problem. Thank you for that! I hope everyone is having a good week. If not good, at least an all right week. This chapter is the last I have written out at the moment, and since I'm still quite busy, the next chapter will be very late. By like four or five weeks. Maybe. I don't know. Haha. Okay, bye. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 4: In Hide and Go Seek, Verde Would Hide Indefinitely

So far, Verde had been requested a grand total of… three times while the others, six or seven times. Verde tried to analyze why this was, but his trains of thoughts were disrupted by Checkers' next request. For some reason or another, he requested they all live together. In the same building. Live in close proximity for however long. Most likely see each other nearly everyday or at least once a week.

Verde fantasized about leaving the galaxy more than a few times.

* * *

Lady Luck was smiling upon him that day. He was somehow the first one to arrive (and it had to be the right building. There was a note from Checkers on the door). If he was even luckier, he could finish setting up before anyone arrives.

But first thing's first. He must stake claim to a large space for his new lab. If anyone's bothered by this… Verde will feel bad. But he won't give it up. It's for science. And also for his mental health.

* * *

The next to arrive was Viper with Luce close behind. Which was actually close to two hours and eleven minutes after Verde (he was just that early).

And soon enough the rest trickled in.

"Is he late _again_?" Viper was getting pretty tired of his tardiness. If this is a recurring trend of Verde's, someone will pay. Hopefully Verde.

"There are glasses on the kitchen counter. I assume it is his, unless anyone else wears glasses," Fon said.

"It doesn't matter if he's here or not since we don't have any jobs at the moment." At this point, Lal was just exasperated.

* * *

It'd been four days. During those four days, everyone was wondering where Verde was. He hadn't shown up in those four days. The only indications someone had been in the manor before any of them were the glasses in the kitchen and a room with a missing mattress. Suspicious, no?

On this particular morning, Skull decided to look around the property a bit more thoroughly. After all, they're probably going to be living there for a long enough time, so why not get used to it.

* * *

'Man, this place is huge,' Skull mused as he wandered aimlessly around. 'Client must be loaded.'

The manor sat somewhere close to the foot of a mountain. The closest civilization was around four and a half miles away. No one will know if they were to be murdered.

'Wow… That's a scary thought.'

The manor was also surrounded by a thick forest. Perfect place to hide the corpses.

'Okay, let's stop thinking about that.'

As Skull ventured further into the woods, he heard a sudden snap! right behind him. But no one was there. Perhaps it was a ghost. Or a sneaky serial killer, coming to get him.

'Okay. I can't stop thinking about that.'

And with that, he decided the forest could wait for another time, turned around, and got smacked on the back of his head.

… Wait, what?

* * *

Colonello wasn't worried. Of course not. He's a manly man. And manly men don't worry… Okay, that's a lie. He's worried. But he's still a manly man. Manly men can be worried, too.

And Colonello wasn't stalking anyone. Nope. Certainly not Lal. Not at all.

Noooo…

Colonello is actually just taking a walk. In the forest. Near the manor. Where Lal is. Checking for dangers. Just in case. Not that Lal can't take care of herself! He's just… worried.

* * *

All was calm. Until his eyes were graced with neon purple. Wow. What a color. On someone's head. Wow.

Snap!

Shit, he stepped on a twig. Curse you leafy forest full of fragile sticks!

The kid spun around… But didn't manage to find him poorly hidden behind the tree. Seriously? Is Lal working with someone this incompetent? Unacceptable!

* * *

Skull turned around another time to come face to neck with a stranger. An angry looking one who attacked him.

"Did you just noggin-punch me!?" It's not pleasant, you know, being punched in general.

"HUH!? YEAH, I DID! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING BEING SO USELESS!?" Why is he yelling and so angry at Skull?! Makes him want to scream, too!

"EXCUSE YOU!? WHAT DO I THINK I'M DOING?! WHAT DO YOU THINK _YOU'RE_ DOING, GOING AROUND ASSAULTING PEOPLE!?"

It was a miracle no one inside the manor heard their screaming match (or perhaps they did not care much about any of Skull's affairs).

* * *

It was also a miracle they calmed down enough to have a quieter conversation. But only after two more minutes of screaming. And foot stomping.

"Anyway, my main problem with you is that you're not aware of your surrounding," Colonello justified his action.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm going back in." And with that, Skull turned around for what seemed like the millionth time. Only for a heavy hand to fall upon his shoulder like a bear paw.

"No, you're not. You're coming with me to check the perimeter." Skull wanted to refuse. Really badly. But the guy had a gun. What a life this is turning out to be. Kinda like a movie he did once. Except this isn't a movie. Nope. Just his life.

* * *

"By the way, don't tell anyone you saw me." Colonello, ass the fourth, wants to be kept a secret. There was no reason for Skull to feel obligated to do anything this random stranger asks of him. In fact, Skull should probably be telling someone about this guy.

You know. This guy. The guy with the gun.

"Why?"

"Because I said so! Okay?!" This guy gotta stop shouting. Doesn't he ever get tired of hearing his voice?

"Okay, okay, whatever, man. Just don't drag me into whatever you-" Skull stopped in the middle of his sentence. He also stopped dead in his track.

"Hey, what's with you?" For all he lectured on about being aware of one's surroundings, Colonello somehow missed the figured on the edge of the cliff. A figure familiar to Skull.

A figure known as Verde.

"He's not going to jump or anything, right?" Skull, whose brain had been wired to horror movies that morning, had nothing really helpful to say at that moment. Not like he really had any time to think or say anything else, because right after he said that, Colonello's sight locked onto Verde and suddenly they were falling off the cliff.

Wow. What a day.

* * *

Verde was just chilling in the forest since very early that morning. Taking a walk by himself. Some peace and quiet. Some time to be alone.

He was holed up in his newly set up lab since the first day, one part because of his work and another part because he feared he might run into someone if he left.

But Verde is a pretty outdoorsy kind of person. He can't effectively interact with the majority of the population but he can still go take part in sports and activities that doesn't require other people. He _had_ to get out of there. So he did the best he could.

Which was to fly out the window at breakneck speed in complete darkness and make a run for it to the safety of the glooming woods.

* * *

So there he was, chilling in the forest that entire morning. He was standing near the cliff enjoying the way a twisted tree looked like an airdancer when a sudden shout rang through the forest. Verde was so startled he dropped the object in his hand down the cliff. Which was why he was peering over the edges to check it hadn't gone and fallen in the river.

And that's when he heard it. The heavy footfalls coming straight at him at the speed of someone rushing to get to the local farmer's market's mega sale. And then BAM! There he goes, right off the cliff.

* * *

It was Luce who happened upon the scene. The scene that is Skull looking about with wide-eyed surprise, holding a large firearm, an unknown sitting on the ground, picking leaves and twigs out of his person, and Verde standing in discomfort, inspecting a small bell.

"...Hello?" The best way to start a conversation. Luce just wanted some answers.

And this unknown shall deliver. But only after Luce promises not to tell anyone of his presence. (Which she did promise, because she saw this man in one of her visions. And also, curiosity.)

"Okay. So," Colonello began. "The kid was like, 'he's going to jump' or something so I panicked a bit and did what my instinct told me to. Which was to give the kid my gun in case he needs protection and so it doesn't get damaged if I have to wrestle green guy over there. So after that, I ran really fast at green guy, you know, to pull him back. But, um, I miscalculated my speed and distance, and just rammed into him. Which, you know, shoved us both off the cliff. Luckily, the cliff wasn't extremely steep so we ended up rolling down and then there was a river next to the cliff. Which we rolled into. And, yeah. That's why we're all wet and muddy and stuff."

"... Ah. I see…"

Yup. What a start to a day.

* * *

For some reason or another, everyone was gathered in the main living room. Perhaps they trusted each other enough to be together. Or perhaps they didn't trust each other enough to be out of each other's sights. Or they just didn't have anything to do. Whatever the reason, they were all there.

Which means they were all there to see Luce lead Skull and Verde back inside (Colonello was hiding out somewhere).

Fun time for Verde.

* * *

'Wow. What a day. It's like, only noon and I already want to go to bed.' Poor Verde. 'They're all looking at me. Again. Why is this my life? It's probably not too late to collect pigeons. Or maybe I can ask Checkers if I can work from home. But that requires contacting and talking to him. I can't do that. Aahhh… Why is this my life? What do they want?'

"Why don't you go clean up, Verde? We'll _all_ be having lunch shortly, and all questions can _wait_ until then," Luce firmly suggested. Verde has some mixed feelings about Luce. While he is grateful for the escape, she basically ordered him to come back down and be with people.

Mmmmyyeeeaaaahhhhh… Bye.

* * *

You know that feeling? You know. That feeling of living through the same exact thing again but there are slight differences each time. And each time, you can do something different for a slightly different outcome. Verde is really feeling that right now. He's been to a few meetings before, and one would think he'd get used to them. But Verde, the unfortunate protagonist of this story, feels worse and worse every single time he sets foot outside his comfort zone.

And there's also the fact his glasses are broken and his spare are missing. Verde's pretty farsighted. Everyone's faces appeared blurry. He couldn't decide which was worse. Being able to see everyone's face of disdain clearly or not being able to see what people are expressing.

If one good thing came out of this it would be nice food. But he still had to eat in front of people. Horrible!

* * *

'Boi, Verde looks pissed af,' Skull thought. He wondered why he got caught up in all this mafia kerfuffle.

Despite the questions floating through their heads, everyone kept silent. Verde's luck appears to be coming back.

After lunch was a different story. Lunch was a tense affair of seven acquaintances eating food prepared by one of these acquaintances with sharp utensils clinking every so often in relative silence. After lunch was a tense affair of seven acquaintances sitting near each other with no protective barriers between any of them in relative silence. Silence was not gold in that room. It was lead. And the silence along with Verde's luck were shattered by Viper.

"Where have you been?" It was directed towards Verde, obviously. Though it was not very obvious to Verde. He thought they knew he was in his work space. Verde shifted his eyes to where he thought Viper's eyes were. The intensity of Verde's glare was unsettling to the group.

He was just squinting.

"I was in my room." What are they getting at?

"We checked all the rooms, and you weren't in any of them," Lal explained.

"Did you check the attic?" The attic. The attic that was pretty much an entire floor with its own bathrooms and whatnot. The attic Verde occupied the past few days. The attic no one apparently checked.

In their defense, the only way to get to the attic was a bit obscure.

"There's an attic?" asked Viper.

"? Yes?" It should've been obvious if they just looked at the floor plan.

* * *

Sometimes, confusions and misunderstandings might happen because of someone's actions or lack of actions, whether they meant for them to happen or not. Miscommunication can lead to confusions and misunderstandings.

In this case, one could pinpoint the ultimate factor of all this to Verde's anxiety. The next factor would be the extra effort of Checkerface to make sure Verde became the next Lightning Arcobaleno.

To everyone else, he sent a letter. The invitation. But Verde doesn't get many mails and any that he does occasionally receive usually gets recycled without ever being opened. So Checkerface had to personally tell him face-to-face (which ended with tears and a few broken gadgets).

Another thing would be the fact Checkerface gave Verde a floor plan for the manor. It included the attic that was partially closed off some years back.

* * *

Back to this situation.

"All right, let's move away from the attic for a moment," Lal took charge. "Verde, do you or do you not know about Flames?"

"I do." Verde was also getting frustrated. Partly because he couldn't see shit.

"What is it exactly that you do for a living?"

"I sell whatever I make or develop to people who want them." Maybe if Verde pretends he is talking with a friendly old friend this wouldn't seem so much like an interrogation.

"Such as the mafia," Reborn joined in. "Delta does that, too. Perhaps you know them."

"I don't know anyone called Delta." Why is Reborn so hung up about this Delta person?

Right then, Reborn took out a small… gun? from his inside pocket. He didn't shoot or anything, but it put everyone on edge. Idly, Verde remembered he doesn't have any old friends.

"This is by Delta. Some of their techs have their signature on it. Look." Reborn held it out a bit, angling it so the light hit the side. He was showing Verde something. Something Verde couldn't see.

"... I can't see."

* * *

Ah. Right. No glasses.

"Is this yours?" Fon held out a pair of glasses. It was Verde's spare!

"Thanks." At last, his sight is restored.

Adjusting his glasses back on his face, Verde took another look at whatever Reborn wanted to show him.

On the side of the gun was a small, faint marking. A triangle.

"It may be unofficial, but the majority of the mafia call them Delta because of this," Reborn explained.

"...It's actually supposed to be the letter V," replied Verde. It was at that moment everyone in that room realized Verde and Delta are the same person.

Everything suddenly made more sense than it used to.

That is to say, not that much.

But still. Progress.


	5. The Matron & Life

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

Also, I apologize for any mistakes. And I apologize for strange, inconsistent changes in the tenses. I am not very good at that.

Hello, hello. I am back. How is everyone doing? I don't really know where I'm going with this fic, but here is another chapter. I'm sorry it is so fragmented and rushed. I typed this out at random periods of time over the last few weeks.

Thank you for all the feedback while I was away!

To answer ren7720's question:

I imagine they would be famous on their own as individuals when they are still adults and then got the reputation as the Strongest Seven some time after being turned into weird little babies. But if there is some info on this, you're welcome to correct me on this. Thank you!

(To be honest, it's been a long time since I last watched/read KHR, and I never really got too far into the part when they went to the future. So, I'm relying on other fics, the wiki, and my friend to write this. Everything else, I'm making them up. If there are things that are definitely incorrect, please tell me. I will do my best to fix them.)

* * *

Chapter 4.5: The Matron and Her Bell

They called her Leona. A fierce woman. A strong woman. A caring woman.

If you ask any of the children under her care what the definition of love is, every one of them would point to Leona. To them, she was the embodiment of love and self-sacrifice.

* * *

"Verde! Let's play hide and seek! You can hide if you want," a child in the distance yelled out. Many children were out and about that day. The sun blazed as usual, and the streets were filled with vendors and chatters. A warm day.

Verde was ten years old at that time.

He did end up joining the game. Only to hide under Leona's desk the whole time. All the children knew where he was. They wouldn't find him, though. They knew the importance of space to Verde, and they can respect that.

* * *

The clock tower's bells rang for two o'clock.

"Verde, are you still hiding?" Leona came back inside to find Verde still under her desk. She last saw him there one hour and thirty-two minutes ago.

Mumble mumble.

"What was that?"

"... I'm not hiding," he repeated more clearly.

"Oh yeah? Then what are you doing?" the matron asked. She walked over to the window and looked out. The children had moved on from hide and seek to a game of tag.

No answer. They sat there in silence for fourteen minutes. They were both patient people.

"I'm listening to the bells," Verde finally replied. It wasn't a lie. Not really. He was always fond of the sounds of bells.

"The bell won't ring for awhile."

"I'm waiting for three o'clock." Very patient.

* * *

Leona knew every single one of her children. She knew Pato had a great dislike for birds. She knew Roja's favorite colors were the yellows of sunups and oranges of sundowns. She knew what Irma's nightmares were about.

And she knew Verde wouldn't wait for the bell to ring under her desk unless something was wrong.

* * *

"Bad Day?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

That was their entire conversation. No more words were necessary.

* * *

Verde was fifteen years old when Leona gave him the gift.

A soundless bell.

"For bad days. For good days. For any day," she told him once upon a time.

He kept it for all those years, never too far from reach. When it fell off the cliff, he thought his days were over.

* * *

Chapter 5: Well, This is Just Life

'Wow. That was a thing that just happened today,' Verde thought. His body felt tired and sore, but he thought he was doing better than the others.

'Maybe it has something to do with Lightning Flames.'

* * *

Verde gazed at the situation in front of him. He wasn't all that interested and would rather be in his room, but the others pinned him to his spot with the _look_. How could he leave then? He couldn't. So he had to deal with yet another uncomfortable encounter.

'At least Luce and Colonello are taking most of the attention.' That meant less on Verde. Even less if Verde sat as still as humanly possible.

* * *

"You knew." That was Viper.

"It was what I had to do," Luce defended. She was very calm.

"You _knew_ ," Viper hissed. Like a snake. That's funny.

"What you had to do involved the lives of six other people." Reborn looked like he was going to burst a vein. That can't be healthy.

"Hey! I'm part of this, too!" Colonello is shouting again. Lal didn't say anything. She looked… bad. In shock?

"Quiet, you! You weren't part of any of this. You involved yourself and complicated everything!" Who said that? Was it Fon? Everyone's voices were blurring together. Too much for Verde to handle.

Everything was too much.

* * *

Verde steadily tilted his head back. Through the cracks in his lenses, he saw the day. The sky was so blue. The clouds so white. The leaves so vivid. A bright day. And warm. Like his childhood.

* * *

Luce did what she did to save the world. Or something. Verde didn't know the details. Nor did he really care. He didn't care much for the world, but Luce did. He can respect that. That's all.

He leaned back farther and farther. Until his back touched the ground of the slope. And he tumbled, down and down and down… Down the mountain. Unknown to everyone. They were busy screaming and yelling and throwing blames. Verde wanted nothing to do with any of everything that happened. It was a Bad Day.

Everything was too much.

So he left.

* * *

Everyone left in the end. They all went their separate ways, trying to go back to their original lives as best they could. Except Skull. Luce took pity on him and took him in for a short while.

Checkerface didn't make another contact.

* * *

Verde returned back to his base lab and home. Nothing was different. His burners were all off, the security measures running smoothly, the little scuttlebots crawled around him.

To Verde, nothing seemed to have changed.

* * *

It had been a few months since the incident, and since then, everyone was trying to lose themselves in work and be as far away from each other as possible. The world is vast, but that second bit can be slightly more difficult if everyone's locations are unknown to each other. And sometimes, coincidences just happen.

Verde was out on a walk in the woods. Nothing unusual. Rare, but not unusual. He was out perhaps because he felt free of responsibilities and stress of the Strongest Seven nonsense. His body was that of an infant's but as long as Checkers didn't contact everything was fine.

At least, it was fine until he saw a familiar face between the trees.

'Wow. What a coincidence we happen to be chilling in the same place at the same time,' thought Verde.

* * *

Skull should just avoid trees at this point. He runs into some unwanted company whenever he's in the woods. But darn. This place is one of the best places to ride his bike (he got a new bike adjusted to his new size, courtesy of Luce's pity).

Out in seclusion, Skull was practicing and still getting used to his unique situation. It was difficult getting used to his smaller stature. He was thrown off and sent flying through the air one too many times. But when he stopped to rest a moment, he saw _it_.

That blinding glare of Verde's glasses.

* * *

The two stood staring at each other for some time. Who knows how long. They stood there thinking basically the same thing.

'Maybe I can just walk away and he won't mind.'

* * *

Skull thought walking away might get on Verde's bad side and decided to at least greet the other man.

"Erm… Hi, Verde. Fancy meeting you here? Haha…" He couldn't have made that any more awkward and uncomfortable.

"… Yes. Hello. Skull. Good… to see you…" It had been awhile since Verde last spoke to another living human being.

And as usual, silence followed after this exchange.

* * *

Verde was trying hard not to get caught up in any more unnecessary, stressful situations. (By isolating himself. Unhealthy coping strategy, he knows.) But the past just never seems to leave him alone.

'I hope space travel becomes possible soon. Not even the past can catch me out there.' Keep dreaming, Verde.

* * *

When Skull decided the silence had to end, surprisingly, it was Verde who spoke out first.

"Head injuries are potentially fatal and should be checked, and open wounds can become infected," he said. Skull came to the conclusion he should've left when he had the chance. What if Verde finds out about his strange regeneration? That madman will definitely strap him to a table, and who knows what will happen after. The world may never hear from Skull ever again.

"I will check over your injuries," Verde continued.

"Hah! No, this is fine! I had some training on this kind of stuff, being a stuntman and all, you know. I'm perfectly fine!" Better find an escape from Verde.

"I know you are."

"Uuhhhh, what?"

"I know you are fine," Verde repeated. "Your wounds have stopped bleeding and are already starting to close."

"Nope! They're still bleeding! You can't check! You don't have my permission!" Heck! Skull needs to get out of there right now!

"Oh. A shame. I see." Oh, that's it? That was easy!

"But I do hope that you know you are trespassing," Verde stated.

"... What do you mean?"

"This is private property. It's mine."

* * *

Verde is patient. Partly because he is stubborn. And if there's something he really wants, he'll take it. No matter what. The only way to stop him is to wait for him be grow disinterested. But Verde is stubbornly patient. It takes a long time for him to grow bored of what he wants.

And currently, Verde is very interested in how Skull's injuries healed in a matter of a few minutes. Verde _really_ wants to know.

* * *

"I didn't know that," Skull admitted. He's been here a couple times before and no one stopped him then. In fact, the locals said the mountain is free to explore as long as he doesn't do any harm.

"I don't advertise my ownership," said Verde. He knows he's being an asshole, but he really, really wants to know.

"But I'm willing to let this slide if you'll let me check your injuries and take some samples. I'll even give you permission for future instances," he continued. Good deal, no?

"You're not gonna kidnap me and experiment on me or anything, right?" Just making sure.

"No." That would mean being in Skull's company for more than necessary. No way!

* * *

In the end, Skull agreed (with much fuss and arguing) in fear of getting in trouble with the whole trespassing situation. Verde really did only take some samples. Nothing else.

Since that day, Skull lived in constant fear of a terrifying scientist-monster abducting him in the middle of the night. Verde continued his isolation to recover from his encounter with Skull.

* * *

Luck is never on his side. That is, Verde's side. Just a few weeks after that unexpected reunion with Skull, Verde decided to go on a trip to see the Everglades. (Why? He felt like it.) And really, guess who else was also taking a trip to the same exact location on vast Mother Earth.

* * *

Before we talk about the bad part, let's mention the good part. Sometime during his visit, he met Keiman. She just followed him around. Verde certainly drew lots of attention.

Originally, Verde wanted to name her Leona. But then the bad part happened.

Concept: Verde. Chilling as usual in peace by himself, nobody bothers him. It's a good day. Sad reality: Verde. Trying to chill as usual in peace with an alligator, everyone stares at him but generally leaves him alone. Except Reborn. It's a not-as-good-as-it-could-be day.

* * *

"Well! Fancy meeting you here, Verde," Reborn said with that same tone of nonchalance from before. Verde had to admit, it was pretty impressive considering Reborn was hanging by his foot from a street light. He appeared to be stuck, but Reborn is a strange man. It could all be according to his plan, whatever it may be.

"… Hello," Verde responded. He didn't really want to, but rudeness is generally frowned upon in society.

"You know, I was actually looking for you. Funny how this turned out, don't you think?"

Hearing that sentence felt like a death sentence to Verde. Like, literally.

'HHHHHHHHHECK. Reborn, arguably the world's number one hitman, was looking for me. Did that mean… Reborn's going to assassinate me?!' Verde thought in like, half a second. He decided in the other half second he liked living and prepared to sprint away from that killer called Reborn.

"Before you go running away, I'm not here to do you any harm," Reborn hastily clarified after seeing immediate panic flash across Verde's eyes. Living with Verde for that short amount of time before… the Incident helped in picking out the subtle visual cues he displays. It's not much, but still something.

"Oh? I see you made a friend as green as you. Where did you find it?" Good job, Reborn. Small talk to get Verde, who doesn't want to talk with or even look at you, talking.

"I didn't. She's been following me for days." Verde thought he saw a comet in the corner of his eye. Maybe his wish of it striking Earth and disrupting this conversation will come true.

"Huh. I have a green companion as well. His name is Leon. What's her name?" With that, a small chameleon crawled out from under the hat that magically stayed on Reborn's head.

'Well, thank you for asking, Hitman Reborn. I was actually thinking of Leona, but I can't do that now because it's too similar to Leon, and what if that just makes everything more awkward around here?' Verde changed his wish. He'd rather be dropkicked off the face of the planet.

"It's... uh, Caiman" Unoriginal, Verde. You should be ashamed of bestowing such an apathetic name to this creature that looks at you with love(?) and adoration(?).

"How would you spell that?" Heck! Reborn probably figured out Caiman was an impromptu name and is now trying to humiliate Verde by asking more questions!

"K-E-I-M-A-N." Partial redemption goes to Verde for slightly unique spelling. "I'm sorry, I need to get going. Can I help you?"

"Ah, right. I was trying to contact you to buy more ammunitions, but it appears 'Delta' has been missing for awhile now. But here you are!" Reborn explained. It was much better than assassination.

"I don't do that kind of thing anymore."

"You said that before about your patients."

"I suppose… I'm leaving now. Bye."

"Hold on! You're always in such a rush. Would it kill you to stay for a-"

"Yes." Note to self, Verde: stop cutting people off in the middle of their sentences.

"… Is that so. Anyway, as much as I hate to admit this, I'm stuck, as you can clearly see. Getting used to this infantile body can be difficult at times. Wouldn't you agree?"

No, not really. "Sure."

"Help me get down."

* * *

The hell is Verde supposed to do? He didn't bring any machines that would be useful in this situation. This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation! How did Reborn get stuck up there anyway? Are all his hits usually this unconventional? What to do, what to do…

Oh wait.

Verde can say with certainty he has at least one thing going well for him.

* * *

Reborn was really surprised to see Verde.

Reborn was perhaps embarrassed to see Verde while hanging upside down from a street lamp.

Reborn was somewhat amused at Verde's tendency to drop jobs on a whim.

Reborn was a bit pained to swallow his pride and ask (demand) Verde's help.

Reborn was extremely startled when Verde uprooted the street lamp with his bare hands.

* * *

And with that, Verde sprinted away, newly named Keiman at his heels, leaving Reborn to stare at his rapidly retreating form.

* * *

Wow. Since meeting Reborn, Verde wanted nothing more than to stay well hidden from the world and sit in peace. With Keiman, he'll never get too bored and the silence will never get too overwhelming. They'll just take occasional walks so she won't be cooped up for too long. And he has all his little robots to keep him entertained. Good plan!

* * *

It felt like Lady Luck had some personal grudge against Verde. She looked down upon Verde with much vitriol and pure hatred.

* * *

And she also sent Viper after him. Literally seven hours after departing from Reborn.

"Verde."

"Viper."

What a sight to see. Two babies having a face-off in the middle of a barren street. Viper was levitating a bit off the ground, hood shadowing their face as usual. They looked like a miniature reaper. Here to finish off Verde. For good. Heck.

'You know what? This could be another coincidence. We are simply two acquaintances that happened to be in the same area. Nothing strange about this. Yup. I can just move on. Keep going. Home is within reach. Viper wasn't purposefully looking for me. Yeah.' Yup. Obviously. That's gotta be it.

"I was looking for you," said Viper. Verde's soul left his body. "It's odd. I can find anyone in the world but you weren't registering properly. Until a week ago. Why is that?"

Verde had no intention of explaining why. He's a pretty secretive person. He doesn't share any of his research and findings if he doesn't want to. Even if it could greatly benefit the world.

"Can I help you?" Verde really needed a break from people. He's about to reach his limit.

"I want to know everything you know about flames. Surely, you've done research on them," Viper answered.

"I don't want to tell you anything."

"I'll pay you," they said. Viper's willingness to pay was astounding. But not enough for Verde.

"No, goodbye."

* * *

Viper spent a good four months looking for Verde. They spent approximately nineteen rolls of paper to find Verde. After that, they were not willing to spend anymore. All the maps came up different. Some of them were even of nonexistent places. This frustrated Viper to no end.

When Viper decided to try the sneeze-maps once more, they turned out consistent. Viper finally found Verde!

But now that they actually found Verde, the man in question refuses to share any of his information. How selfish.

* * *

"I'm offering to pay as much as you want. You should be honored I'm willing to spend so much money on you," Viper stated.

"No." Verde stands his ground. That stubborn child.

"Look here, Verde. I'm trying get us all out of this situation."

"I care not. Bye."

And there he goes again. Zooming out of uncomfortable conversations like the socially inept man he is. Leaving Viper alone, stunned.

* * *

After all this, Verde really did stay holed up in his lab, never venturing any farther than the local towns, for as long as he possibly could. Which is to say, over a year.


	6. Life is Like a Box of Dynamite

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

Also, I apologize for any mistakes. And I'm sorry my sentences don't vary much. I hope it's not too boring to read.

Thank you so much for all the feedback! It means a lot to me.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am sorry that this chapter is shorter than some other chapters, but the next part doesn't fit in with this one. In this chapter, I tried to show a bit of the ugliness of anxiety. Please keep in mind that this does not speak for everyone with anxiety.

Random idea: Verde treats Keiman like the Internet treats cats. All those pictures and videos of cats in boxes, but with Keiman instead haha!

* * *

Chapter 6: Life is Like a Box of Dynamite

Ah, yes. To run or not to run. That is the question.

"Hello there, Verde."

Too late. And it was such a nice day, too.

* * *

"Okay, Keiman. We're going out," Verde told Keiman. They were at the foot of his mountain, waiting for Verde to take the next step. It's been like, twenty minutes.

"Yup. We're going. Now." Keiman blinked up at him. Thankfully, she was just as patient as Verde. A match made in Florida.

"On second thought, let's just wait a couple days more. And then, we'll go for real. Good plan, right, Keiman?" Verde looked down at her for approval. As always, Keiman flashed him some teeth that could count as a smile. Bless her. She is too good to Verde.

* * *

As Verde said, they really did leave two days after. One small step for Verde, one giant leap also for Verde. Keiman faithfully at his side.

They were chilling together, as usual. This time in Taiwan. Great place. Really. Verde didn't venture too much into densely populated areas, but still. Good trip.

At least, it was good until he saw Fon.

Fon didn't notice Verde. Yet. That guy's good at what he does. What exactly, Verde doesn't know nor does he really care. But Fon will definitely notice him, sooner or later.

Now, to run or not to run. That is the question.

* * *

Verde thinks he should forego his glasses and switch to contacts. The sun glints off of it too well.

"Hello there, Verde," Fon greeted him kindly. Now, Verde's chance to run vanished like a magic trick gone wrong. That chance won't be making a reappearance.

"Hello. Fon," Verde replied back like he always does. He wasn't raised to grow up rude. He occasionally wonders how many situations he could've gotten out of if he didn't answer back. The list is extensive.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it? Why don't we catch up for a moment? Your companion may join us," Fon suggested. Verde was about to refuse, but he sensed something dangerous within Fon. It might just be Verde's paranoia but… he never lost much (other than mental drain) from being too careful.

* * *

At some point while following Fon, Verde came to the amazingly, well-thought out conclusion that everyone in the world is dangerous.

* * *

Fon knew Verde had trouble with anxiety, among other things. Of course he knew! They lived together. Some of the other Arcobaleno (as they were now referred to as) knew as well. They just really didn't expect it to be to such extreme degree. And really, Verde's not a bad guy. Perhaps a bit apathetic with little moral values, but he does try. There's no reason to treat the poor man badly. In fact, a bit of kindness will go far. Verde will remember the moments of kindness and pay them back. He makes a good potential ally.

With everything in mind, Fon took Verde (and Keiman) to a little candy store out in a more open street. He watched discreetly as Verde poured water over Keiman. Fon should work on that. Verde noticed immediately he was being watched.

"Verde," Fon started.

"Fon." Verde managed to continue and end a conversation with one word. Kinda impressive, but frustrating to some people.

"Ah… Well, how have you been?" Fon started again.

Fine until you talked to me. "Fine. You?"

"Fine as well."

And the conversation somehow took off from there.

* * *

"… Lal got herself a position with the Vongola family, and none of us ever saw Viper after that Incident. Some are even wondering if they died, considering the lack of information on them, but surely, Luce would have something to say about that," Fon went on. Verde wasn't contributing much, and that's fine. Fon expected as much.

'I saw Viper some time ago. When was that? Was that a year ago? Time feels different since I turned into a baby. Haha, what a weird thing to say," Verde's mind went on a tangent. He decided not to tell Fon about Viper. It's really none of his business. If Viper wanted to be hidden, then so be it. They shall be hidden, and Verde will not rat.

"Probably," Verde settled with going along with whatever Fon said.

"Last I heard of Luce, she was quite ill. Apparently an effect from being the holder of the Sky Pacifier. A shame for her child, I suppose," Fon said with little care. Verde assumed the others were still sore from what they refer to as Luce's betrayal. Verde felt kinda bad for Luce, but eh. Not his problem.

"I've kept you long enough. I should get going now. Take care, Verde." With those parting words, Fon left. Seemed like he was in a bit of a hurry. Really, why waste time with Verde then?

Despite how uncomfortable sitting with Fon was, Verde learned some valuable information that he probably could've found out on his own. Lal and Colonello are both centered in Italy. He can just avoid that country if he doesn't want to see them. Nice!

* * *

Verde didn't count on the others (minus Viper) to start interacting with each other again. He also didn't count on them exchanging informations. Especially Skull spilling that bit about Verde's private property. And Reborn tipping everyone about Verde's near inhuman strength.

If anything, Verde absolutely didn't count on Colonello assaulting him on his own territory and taking him to who knows where.

* * *

"Colonello. You- I didn't think you would- that you would forcibly bring me here and- and try to fight me to the- the- to the death. You murderer. I thought there's a rule on to not attack- on not attacking each other," Verde managed wheeze out from his panic-filled panic. Panic-ception. He stood on one side of some sort of underground training field. In his hands, he held his weapon. A broken piece of metal he tore off from somewhere. He couldn't remember. Everything was blurry.

Suddenly, Verde was very aware of a distant rumbling. An earthquake? A train?

"Woah! I'm not going to kill you, chill out, man!" Colonello hadn't expected such an extreme hostile reaction. Verde seemed like such a calm man. Perhaps this was a bad idea.

"Then let me out. I left a burner on. And Keiman is alone. I have to go. _Right now_ ," Verde grit out.

"Hey, just wait a bit! I wanna see how-"

 _WHOOSH!_ That's the sound of Verde swinging his weapon at Colonello.

 _THUD._ That's the sound of Colonello falling while dodging.

* * *

Unfortunately for Colonello, Verde was in fight mode. Usually, in cases of fight or flight, Verde would choose flight. But seeing as how there was no obvious escape route, Verde chose to fight.

Verde's a pretty good fighter. Sucks to suck, Colonello.

* * *

It was supposed to be a smooth operation. But there were some slight miscalculations.

The first one was locating Verde. It was harder than Colonello expected. The second was Verde's total unwillingness to cooperate, though this was unsurprising. The third was having to improvise his initial plan. He ended up dogpiling Verde with everyone he brought along. The fourth, Reborn had grossly understated Verde's strength.

* * *

"HEY! CAN YOU JUST CALM DOWN A SEC?!" It was difficult trying to talk and dodge a superhuman madman. Verde looked really out of it. And really scary. He looked wild and deranged.

* * *

And here comes another swing from the batter! He swings! Strike one! Don't lose hope, Verde! He swings again! Oooo, strike two! One more strike and it's out for our favorite player! He swings a final time and… HOMERUN! !

* * *

Verde was still tearing up the place, leaving dents and gouges everywhere. Colonello, however, started to grow tired. He stopped trying to talk (scream) at Verde and focused all his energy into surviving.

But his effort was short-lived. Verde got the best of him, and Colonello was out like a flash of lightning.

* * *

After Verde defeated the great evil that was Colonello, there were no other visible threats in the vicinity. Other than the surveillance cameras, but there's not much he could do about them given his situation.

All this gave him a chance to control his panic-induced frenzy.

The room was a mess. It was very bare, but Verde somehow made a mess out of nothing. Then, he felt that rumbling again. It grew closer and closer, loud roars followed close.

It was a subway.

* * *

'Ah, shit.' Colonello woke up with the worst headache. And backache. And everything-ache. 'Fuck, Verde hits hard. Now, where'd he go?'

"Hey, security! Where's Verde?" Colonello yelled out to the room. Hopefully the communication systems weren't damaged too badly.

"He's up in Mafia Land. He's not moving," a voice from a speaker echoed from somewhere. Did it normally echo or was that Colonello's headache?

"Okay, tell me exactly where he is." With that, he left to find Verde. To have a proper conversation. And apologize.

* * *

He did find Verde. A pitiful sight. Verde was crouched somewhere in a narrow alley, away from the majority of the population. If Colonello had to guess, Verde was probably headed towards the empty lot on the other end of the alley, but the narrowness and loudness caused Verde to fall short and break down. Well, shit. Colonello fucked up.

"Hey, Verde," he whispered. It was a sensitive situation.

Labored breathing from Verde.

"Hey, yeah. Fuck, I'm sorry. I'll take you back. Whenever you're ready," he continued when he realized Verde was in no condition to speak.

* * *

Logically, Verde knew he was being irrational with everything. His mind was very clear and thinking of the next logical action to take. Which was to tell Colonello everything was fine, he overreacted, and that he was sorry for beating him and wrecking the place. But that's the thing with anxiety and the like. His body just wouldn't respond properly.

* * *

Everything turned out well in the end. Sort of. Colonello was bedridden for a week, and Verde was completely exhausted for a week. They were both out for a week. But other than that, everything was well. Their relationship had actually grown from this little event, especially after that proper conversation Colonello wanted.

* * *

"Yeah, so. What I wanted to know was how physically strong you are. You know, 'cause Reborn was telling everyone about how you ripped up a street light. And well, I just didn't think all this through, I guess. Yeah, sorry about all that," Colonello admitted. He's a rash and reckless man, but not insensible to other's sufferings and his own faults.

"It's fine- I mean, it wasn't fine, but it's all right now," Verde stumbled over his words. Still an awkward man like always.

"Yeah, thanks."

They sat in companionable silence for a bit. Mafia Land didn't hold the best memories for Verde, but there he was again. Of course, everything was setup to accommodate Verde. A nice, secluded coffee shop on a nice, secluded street. Not enough people to crowd Verde, but just enough for the setting to feel more natural.

"Right, so, can I ask what your training regimen is?" Colonello asked, his curiosity spilling over in his words.

"I don't have one," Verde stated. No particular reason to lie.

"What? Really? Then how d'you get so superman?" Haha, what a weird way to say that. Colonello's a pretty funny guy.

"I don't know. I guess it just built up over the years. I do go bouldering and such, so maybe that's how…" Verde wasn't all that interested in getting 'superman,' as Colonello had put it, so he'd never really thought about the how's and why's of his strength. It seemed like a boring waste of time.

"Man, you gotta tell me what you do. Or maybe this has more to do with flames, or like, you as a human being," Colonello went on.

It was a strange place to find a friend. But everything worked out in the end. A happier conclusion for once!

* * *

Verde never really thought the next time he saw Luce would also be the last. Well, to be quite honest, he hadn't been thinking about much other than his current research.

* * *

"Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me," Luce breathed out. Today might be her last day.

A nod from Verde and several noises of affirmation from others. It was Verde, Reborn, Lal, Skull, and Colonello. Just them. Perhaps the other two will join them for the funeral?

* * *

Despite the number of people, the funeral was a quiet affair, save for the crying of a child. The other two never showed up, and Colonello was called out early for work. Verde thought about leaving early as well, but it felt gravely rude to leave without a valid reason.

"Verde," Reborn greeted from his side.

"Reborn," Verde answered back. Names are greetings, Verde. Greetings are also conversation starters. You're awfully good at ending them, Verde. You should work on that.

But no need to worry. Everyone had more or less gotten used to Verde's terse style of speech.

"Who do you think the next holder of the Sky Pacifier will be?" Reborn asked. The answer was obvious.

"Aria." Most likely.

"Sad fate for a child. For anyone." That was that. There was nothing else to be said.


	7. Hello, Hello! Reaching Home Base Green

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

Also, I apologize for any mistakes.

Hello, everyone! How are you doing? Here is the next chapter. Sorry, but I don't really know how the characters refer to each other.

Unfortunately, this may be the last chapter. There might be one more, but who knows haha. I don't know what else to write about for this. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!

By the way, does anyone know if there's a date for when the Arcobaleno turned into babies? I want to know the general time/era they are originally from.

* * *

Chapter 7: Hello, Hello! Reaching Home Base Green

Call from Viper… Mammon?:

"Verde, I want to make an exchange," a voice Verde hadn't heard in a few months spoke. Sounds like Viper?

"Viper?" Verde had to make sure. You can never be too cautious.

"Yes, but I'd prefer it if you call me Mammon as of now," Mammon said with mild irritation. Verde hadn't had contact with Mammon since that time in Belarus. Verde somehow got involved with whatever they were doing at the time. Which was trying to hack into some rich man's security. They wouldn't tell him the details.

Mammon swore Verde has a strange supernatural ability in finding people who are in hiding. Verde nervously laughed that off and ran away.

"Ah, right. I apologize, but I'm not in any business at the moment."

"Can't you help me on the basis of our relationship as the Arcobaleno?"

"You're not gonna leave me alone until I agree, are you." More statement than a question.

"Yes."

"... Can I help you?"

"I need access to the Coniglio Famiglia's security. It's Delta's codes." Straight to business.

Huff. "All right, I'll send over-"

"No, Verde, you're coming with me," Mammon cut him off.

Ah, yes. Contact with the outside world. For a job. From Mammon. How wonderful. Just makes Verde want to lie down for like, ten years. Mm, yes. Touch those cool floor tiles.

"Verde?" Huh. Guess Verde was on the ground for longer than he thought. Time flows so strangely!

"Mammon."

"Be at the Coniglio estate by tomorrow, five o'clock," Mammon ended the call with that. What exactly this exchange entailed, Verde didn't know. But he didn't have time to think about that. Tomorrow five o'clock in Italy was in eight hours. Talk about a serious time crunch!

* * *

Call from Colonello:

"-and then they just kept yelling and kicking and screaming at me, like, what was _I_ supposed to do about all that?! And then one of the guys kicked a can or something, and it actually hit someone. And that someone turned out to be some high ranking officer from some famiglia, and then _she_ got involved with everything that just happened! So then I had _six_ people yelling at each other and at _me_ , so I'm like, 'CAN Y'ALL JUST SHUT UP AND CALM DOWN?!' but then they got even angrier, and then the _kiosk_ guy came to tell us that-" Colonello continued to rant on for another half hour. He sure had a bunch of stories to tell.

* * *

Call from Reborn:

"Hello, Verde!" Wow, that seriously almost stopped Verde's heart. If it really did stop, does that mean Reborn successfully assassinated (unintentionally) a person from a different country?

"Reborn? Hello?" Verde was unsure of this unexpected phone call.

'He probably threatened Colonello for the number.' The thought flashed through Verde's head but was quickly replaced with more pressing issues.

"Can I help you?" Why was he calling? Did Verde do something wrong? Or something?

"I seem to have run out of bullets for Delta's Second Prototype. You wouldn't happen to have some lying around, would you?" Ah. Of course. Business.

"I apologize, but I don't make weapons at the moment, and no, I don't have any," Verde replied. That last bit was a lie, but Reborn doesn't have to know that.

"There _has_ to be a way to convince you to make more. Is there anything I can do for you? Perhaps there's someone you want gone? Please, I'm a professional at ridding the world of individuals. Just name them!"

'Reborn is offering me a favor in exchange for bullets. Mafia doesn't give favors to just anyone. Think very carefully, Verde.' And then, an idea came to Verde.

"Ilsa-"

"So this world needs one less Ilsa, hm? Child's play, Verde! I accept-"

"No. Please. Don't kill Ilsa. I don't want her dead. Don't do that, please," Verde quickly intercepted Reborn's acceptance to a hit on Ilsa.

He continued, "Ilsa is my supplier. I just need you to go pick up some boxes from her for me."

On the other end of the line, Reborn stood still. World's Greatest Hitman. Runs out of exclusive bullets. Calls for more. Demoted to errand boy…

Meh. Easy job.

"All right. When and where. Tell me the details. This, too, is a very simple task that I, of course, can complete."

Small victories. Verde didn't have to venture too far out from his base that month.

* * *

Another call from Reborn:

"Ah, Verde! Didn't think you'd actually pick up. Isn't it nighttime where you are?" Reborn's voice rang clearly from Verde's phone.

'Sometimes, I wonder why I do pick up,' Verde thought.

"Reborn, do you need something?"

"The kids I'm watching right now got into some petty argument about the usefulness of lightnings. Hayato got fed up with the cow child, and somehow got into this argument. They've been at it since this morning." Wow, what?

"Cow child?"

"Lambo from the Bovino famiglia." Who are these children whose names sound vaguely familiar?

"What does this have to do with me?" Verde asked the most important question.

"Nothing! Just need an answer for the cow so he stops crying, and who better to ask than the strongest Lightning flame user?" Reborn sounded both pleased and irritated with this cow child's cries. He's probably some sort of sadist. Yeah… Makes sense.

"Nitrogen fixation," and promptly hung up.

"Keiman," Verde turned to Keiman. Keiman looked up at Verde. "It's time I change numbers again." She solemnly nodded along.

* * *

Reborn yet again:

"Verde!" Reborn strikes again.

"..." Verde was exhausted. His social quota for the week had already been fulfilled and now, Reborn was calling. Again.

"Verde, are you there?"

"Hhhyeh." Great answer, Verde.

"Good! How does a trip to Japan sound?" ABORT MISSION! HANG UP! HANG UP!

"NO. THANK. BYE."

Click.

Crisis averted! Good work, Verde!

NOT! What have you done, Verde? You just abruptly hung up on someone. And you couldn't even speak properly. Bravo, Verde.

"Keiman, how do I live with this?" Verde turned to his most trusted companion. She wished she could tell him.

At the end of the day, Verde decided to turn off his phone.

* * *

Reborn's new hobby was to call Verde for the most mundane questions.

What time does the sun set in Germany today? Why is the sky blue during the day? What happens when a red brick falls off a blue building? How many trains have you ridden in the past five years? Have you seen the news? My target was featured on the front! And so on.

* * *

He's not one for bragging (excessively), but the reactions from people make when he tells them that he knows Delta personally is always too amusing to pass.

"Tsuna, impromptu lesson on famous figures of the underworld. Who is Delta and how did they contribute to the mafia?" Reborn asked the child. Sawada Tsunayoshi and his friends were walking home, Reborn strolling along the top of a wall next to them. They stopped at his sudden question.

"Um. Uuhhhhh-" Tsuna began. He didn't know. How could he know? He wasn't all that informed of all the prominent figures and their doings. Give him a break! He's still new at this thing!

"If you don't answer in five seconds, expect an explosion," his tutor added as incentive.

"HHHHIII- UUUHHMM- UUHH IT'S- AAHH-" the poor child panicked.

"Tenth!" Good friend Gokudera Hayato comes to the rescue. "Delta is-"

Boom. Explosion. Debris. Fire.

Chaos.

* * *

As the dust settled, Reborn faced them with an "I'm not particularly disappointed but I'm acting the part of a disappointed tutor" expression plastered on his face and simply stated, "No cheating."

"Haha! What was that? A firework? Did it come from your toy?" Yamamoto Takeshi, a… curious human child, asked Reborn, who held a small gun in one hand.

"Yes, it did. Look closely, Tsuna. This is Delta's Fourth Prototype. It's a compact cannon."

"YOU HAVE ONE OF DELTA'S PROTOTYPES?!" Hayato shouted out. He looked like a child seeing Black Rock City's Burning Man for the first time in his life.

"Um, Gokudera-kun, who is Delta?" Tsuna was honestly too afraid of asking his tutor. That baby almost blew them up for cheating. Teachers usually give lighter punishments than death (but what else would you expect from Reborn?).

"Delta is one of the most influential people in the mafia, and maybe even the entire world! They're responsible for the most elaborate security systems and codes, as well as advanced technologies and weapons. They're weapons are the most coveted because he only sells two copies of each prototype. Both of the Fourth Prototypes are said to have gone missing in the late seventies," Hayato dutifully answered.

"Then, how do you have one?" Tsuna turned his attention back to Reborn. "Don't tell me, you stole that or something!"

"Or something," Reborn smirked. "Please, I'm only a year old. How could I possibly steal something that went missing so many years prior to my birth?" At this, Tsuna narrowed his eyes at the baby. With Reborn, who knows where the lies start and end.

"Both original Prototypes were actually broken, and the pieces are lost in the ocean. I got this one custom made by Delta," Reborn carried on, ignoring his student's suspicious look.

Honestly, their reactions weren't as amusing as they could've been. Only Hayato and Lambo were aware of Delta's influence and notoriety. Speaking of, it was then that Lambo decided to chime in, since Hayato looked like his soul momentarily left the physical realm.

"Ah! Lambo heard of Delta, too! The Bovino family used to try to make Delta's weapons!" the cow child exclaimed.

"WHAT?! YOU GOT THAT CUSTOM MADE?! BY DELTA!? DO YOU KNOW THEM!?" Hayato needs to chill.

"Yup!" Reborn cheerfully chirped out. Hayato's reaction was too good to let this moment die.

But a shame. The child's sudden excitement was too much for his body to handle at once and decided to crash.

"Well, why don't we have a short training session. Tsuna, carry him and run back to the house," and add a little gun click here to motivate him.

"HIIEEEE-" He's doing his best.

* * *

Later that day, for once, the Sawada household radiated peace and quiet. It was then that Tsuna decided to ask Bianchi about this mysterious Delta (because Hayato could hardly string out a proper, coherent sentence about them. What a nerd).

"Hey, Bianchi. Can I ask you something?" Tsuna cowered a bit from her glare.

"Huh? What is it?" she shot back, her tone clipped.

"HII- Who- who is Delta?"

Perhaps he shouldn't have asked. Bianchi looked like she was about to kill a man. Her grip on her magazine was tight enough to tears holes through it. Yikes!

"Delta… On one of my solo missions, Delta's security scanner somehow picked me out and I almost got caught by the guards. I spent four and a half _months_ on _one_ mission because of them." Poisonous lady with a strong grudge. Scary!

"Ah ha ha, but you were successful in the end, right?" Tsuna quickly changed the topic to her winning moment.

"Of course! My darling Reborn helped me out in the end, which was a shameful moment for me, but I got that pesky target out of the way. For good." Menacing. Very menacing.

"Reborn got past Delta?"

"No, he called a friend to do it. Isn't he great? He's so amazing, with all those connections. If you ever live long enough to get married, pick someone with a powerful status."

"Yup. Thanks for the advice. Good night!" Tsuna bid her farewell and sprinted up the stairs. He only stumbled twice on the way. What an improvement.

* * *

"Hey, Reborn?" Tsuna called out.

"What is it, you weak and slow student of mine?" Reborn teased.

"Erm, Bianchi told me your friend got past Delta, but I think Gokudera-kun told me no one ever got past Delta."

"They're both right."

"But, that doesn't make-"

"Oh, my weak and slow student, use your head. I know Delta. No one gets past Delta. I have a friend who can get past Delta. Add those and what do you get?"

"... You called Delta to get past his own security?"

"Yup! Bingo! You're so smart, Tsuna!"

"Please, stop teasing me."

"I'm not teasing you, I'm praising you! So smart! So incredibly intelligent! Even Delta would be amazed by your intellectual capacity!"

Tsuna's dreams that night consisted of tiny hitman babies dancing around him while chanting sarcastic remarks at him.

* * *

One morning, Tsuna was rudely awoken by the loud rings of gunshots. He just couldn't get used to it.

"HIIEEEE!" he screamed as he tumbled out of bed and crashed onto the floor. Above him stood his tutor from Hell, Reborn.

"They're only blanks this time, Tsuna. Really, you're so hopeless. Even Verde knows how to properly respond to gunshots," the infant scolded.

"Who's Verde?" Tsuna groaned up from the tangled mess of the blankets that fell with him.

"Verde is Delta." Here comes Reborn's specialty. Nonchalance.

"Is that his first name? You're on first name basis?"

"That's what you ask when I reveal the identity of the mafia's most secretive individual?" What an amusing child.

Mumble mumble.

BANG!

"Don't mumble at me. Hurry up and get to school. You're going to be late."

"EEH! Why didn't you tell me earlier?! Hibari-san is going to kill me!" With that, Tsuna became a speedy boy that morning, finishing the morning rituals in record time. Still clumsy, but wow. The threat of the prefect can really get someone moving.

* * *

There comes a point in an average child's life when their tutor takes them to the great wonder that is Mafia Land. Not really. But it happens to some children. Sort of.

Sometimes, said tutor pretty much sets them up to be sent to the Under Mafia Land. What a dream come true! Thank you, beloved tutor!

'I feel like I'm going to die a lot on this vacation,' was Tsuna's worry. Yup. Accurate assumption. 'Even more than usual. Reborn and that other baby look like they have some sort of… rivalry or something. I'm going to die. I didn't even get to spend the day with mom yet. Aaahhhh, why is this my life?'

"Hey, you!" a shout from that other baby.

"HHII- YES?!"

"This bastard told me he's been tutoring you in everything. COME OVER HERE AND FIGHT ME-"

"Eh?"

"-TO THE DEATH!"

"EEHHH?!"

"GET READY!"

"UAAAAAAAAHHH-"

* * *

The "fight" lasted six impressive seconds. Tsuna was left sprawled in a small crater on the floor.

"The most impressive thing about you is your battle cry, and even _that's_ wimpy. You going soft or something, Reborn?" the now-identified Colonello turned his attention away from the injured child on the ground and continued to bicker with Reborn.

"I think it's quite the improvement. You should have seen him at the start. Beyond pathetic!" his tutor defended. Who exactly he defended… A mystery.

Tsuna managed to get his bearing sorted out and asked, "Are all these walls dented because you crushed people into them?"

"No, most of them are from me," Colonello spared him a glance for a quick moment before turning back.

"You mean you were crushed into them?!"

"By Verde, yeah." This time, Colonello didn't even bother to look back and went right back to arguing.

"Verde? Isn't that your friend, Reborn?" Who is this mystery man that crushes people into walls?

"Yes-" Reborn started but was cut off by Colonello.

"What?! Since when? Didn't he punch you through a tree the last time you two met in person?" What to heck! Reborn's friend super-punched him through a tree?!

"I simply caught him at a bad time. Not my doing, mind you," Reborn shot back. And there they go again, shooting words like bullets at each other. Tsuna hoped they would forget about him, but no such luck.

* * *

Tsuna thinks he's never been so happy to see his house after coming back from Mafia Land. That was a wild trip. But of course, his life wasn't very simple anymore. Reborn had another surprise planned.

"Tsuna, get ready. You're going to be late. Again," was Reborn's remark.

"How come you never wake me up on time?" Tsuna felt brave that morning through his sleepy haze.

"Your body should be used to getting up at specific times. Don't rely on me for such trivial things like waking up," his tutor reproached him.

As Tsuna hastily made his way out the door, Reborn shouted out to him, "Gather your guardians after school at the park." And then, the baby disappeared to who knows where. Probably off to sneak around in the school's secret passageways to spy on the students. What a weirdo.

* * *

Tsuna's morning wasn't going very well. That morning, Takeshi was off on an errand for his father and Hayato went to restock. Tsuna was left to walk to school alone, with no one to defend him from _the dog_ (Reborn would scoff at him, but at least he wasn't there at the time). He ended up taking the long way around, only to come across a construction zone. The workers told him to take another way around, which led him cutting through one of the smaller shopping districts. In the early lights, there were only a few people around. It was easy to pick out the green haired baby half hidden behind a telephone pole.

'Wow, that's a baby in a coat. He's probably somehow related to Reborn. That can't be good. Wait, what is- IS THAT AN ALLIGATOR!?' Tsuna thought. Or so he thought. He actually said all that out loud. What a blunder.

And now, he has the mysterious baby's full attention. Commencing uncomfortable staring competition.

'Should I be doing something? He looks kinda lost, is he lost, I don't know if he's lost,' Tsuna thought and came to the brilliant idea of communication with words. He moved closer to make real, human interaction.

"Um, are you lost?" Perhaps he should've greeted the baby first, but oh well.

He received a blank stare from the infant before him. Maybe he can't speak Japanese?

From that close, Tsuna could make out the finer details. Like the broken, circular glasses and the torn pants. Perhaps this baby bravely fought against a dog. A noteworthy achievement.

'Think, Tsuna! If he really is somehow related to Reborn, he can probably speak Italian. Think back to your Italian lessons!' The inner turmoils of an average child who got thrown into the convoluted world of Mafia and Flames.

" _Hello, how are you_ _?_ " Tsuna finally managed to get out after a couple minutes of thinking. Wait… That's English!

The baby just looked even more confused now, but thankfully replied anyway.

" _Fine, and you?"_

" _Fine, thank you_ _,"_ Tsuna concluded. That was it. The entire conversation. The baby looked at him for a moment longer, backed away a bit, and eventually walked somewhere out of sight. Tsuna felt like he failed a test of some sort. He couldn't even help a baby in distress.

"Now, I'm even later to school, and death awaits," Tsuna mourned and quickly made his way to school.

* * *

Verde was doing pretty fine. Until Reborn called, but even then, he was doing all right. That hitman called to ask him to come to Japan. Reason being, "Help me train the kids as a support. They need the exercise," quote Reborn.

"So, will you come? Or are you preoccupied at the moment?" Reborn inquired.

Verde looked down at the camera in his hand. It was full of pictures of Keiman, his little robots, some trees and flowers, and Miguel.

Ah yes. Good ol' Miguel. The good local farmer who gave him a shit ton of cucumbers.

Normally, Verde would've hung up on the spot after saying goodbye, but during that particular conversation, he looked down at Keiman in his lap. Keiman's eyes pretty much pleaded, "Please, Verde. I'm worried about you. It's been three weeks since you last saw another human being. And the last time was Miguel. You two literally said four words to each other and left. It's time, Verde. Please. Go out."

Of course, Verde can refuse Reborn if he wants to, but how can he betray Keiman?

* * *

Here he is. In Japan. With limited knowledge of the language.

'It's okay, Verde. You studied the language. You know enough to get by. Just find Reborn. Simple. I guess. Keiman's here. You can do this. Yeah! I can do this. I can do this. I can-' Verde's mantra was cut off by a child's exclamation.

Heck. That looks like the Vongola candidate child. Heck. Why is he coming closer?

"Um, are you lost?" the child (what is his name?) asked.

Verde was going to answer. He really was. He was just thinking. Thinking about if he comprehended correctly or not. And his word choices. He was thinking very carefully. But the child was not used to Verde's habits and continued on. With a textbook example of English.

So he answered with a very textbook response.

" _Hello, how are you?"_

" _Fine, and you?"_

" _Fine, thank you."_

Yup. That was it. Verde wasn't lost so the child (was it Asada?) didn't need to be concerned with him. Yeah. Just back up. Back up. And walk away. Good.

* * *

"Why do you look so disheveled?" Reborn asked.

"It has been quite a day," was Verde's reply. Reborn didn't push since his friend didn't look all that bothered. That meant everything was relatively fine.

* * *

"Hey, Reborn, we're here. Where are you?" Tsuna called out to the expanse of grass. Empty grass. Empty of Reborn. Where is that baby?

"Ciaossu," said baby sprouted up from the ground. Like a flower. What in heck? Why is he like this?

They were all gathered. Good. All according to Reborn's plan. Verde also finished setting up. Double good. Everything's set.

"Children, stop fighting and listen to me," he broke up the one-sided fight between the Rain and the Storm. "I called in a friend to help with the training. Don't look so bored, Kyoya. It'll be a real challenge," Hibari Kyoya, Namimori's protector. That bit piqued his interest. This better be worthwhile.

"You see that person over there in the tree?" Reborn gestured to Verde in the tree. His glasses were still broken. Not that he could change them after Reborn took them as hostage. Whatever. The world looked more interesting with the cracks, anyway. "That's Verde, but some of you know him better as Delta-"

"Oh, hey, that's the baby from this-" Tsuna's observation was cut off by a scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH- THAT'S DELTA?!" Hayato. This boy. Has no chill.

"Yes. Stop screaming. He doesn't like loud noises and crowds, so if you want to talk to him, proceed with care. Anyway, he's here to help with your training. One of the robots have his glasses. Go recover it without damaging it. Simply enough, right? Ready? Go!" That was it. All the instructions. Go get it.

Those poor, unfortunate children didn't even have time to think or coordinate anything. With Reborn's signal, Verde commanded his carefully placed drones and minitanks to attack. The park was very lively that day, full of explosions and screams of energetic children.

Verde enjoyed that outing. It was a Good Day.


	8. Things That Just Weren't Meant To Be

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

Also, I apologize for any mistakes. And my Spanish. I'm sorry, I'm not fluent.

Hello! This isn't an actual chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thank you everyone for the support and encouragement, I appreciate them all!

* * *

Extra: Things That Just Weren't Meant To Be

1

"Iemitsu, this is my colleague, Verde. Verde, this is Sawada Iemitsu. I told you about him over the phone," Lal stated calmly. However, that was just a façade. Underneath the surface, she was grinning madly with glee. Putting up with this young Vongola lion nonsense frustrated her to no end. It was time for him to _stop._

She turned to Iemitsu and told him, "You're going to spar with Verde until you can't. Start whenever you're ready."

"Well, all right then! Hello, Verde! You're so small! Like Lal! Haha, Lal, are all your friends this tiny?" Iemitsu, the fool. Lal scowled in great irritation but didn't say anything.

"I'm going to grill you, Clam Boy," was the response from Verde.

"Huh? Clam Boy? My name is Sawada-"

"Vongola Asada! Prepare yourself!"

"Are we fighting now-"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Iemitsu was out of commission for four days. Since then, Lal only had to mention one color for him to shut up and get to work.

[cut because: I don't know why they would be in this situation, Verde wouldn't say/do that.]

* * *

2

It could only be Reborn's great luck to be stuck on a job with two troublesome characters. Namely, Skull and Verde. It was also to everyone's great fortune to be stuck in a malfunctioning vehicle going at the incredible speed of nyoom.

"VERDE! DO SOMETHING!" Even Reborn was shouting in this situation. Well, it was pretty loud with all the alarms and stuff. And also Skull's screaming. Poor child looked hysterical.

"I'M TRYING!" Verde yelled back. He didn't make this vehicle. He didn't know the controls. He's trying.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Skull screamed to the front.

"HE SAID HE'S TRYING! SHUT UP!" Reborn yelled to the teen clinging to him.

"VERDE, TRY HARDER!"

"I SAID SHUT IT!"

"ESTOY HACIENDO MI MEJOR!" Verde was doing his best. He really was. If he didn't… There will be three, brand new gravestones to put up. That probably wouldn't be ideal.

Later that day, three figures emerged from a smoking wreck on fire. They came up on top victorious, their clothes and hair singed and covered in ash. Reborn, the center figure, walked on with an expression that could ward off death itself. He was doing his best trying to pretend his two companions didn't have a crushing death grip on his arms. Skull to his left. A sniffling child that couldn't form coherent words. Verde to his right. A shell of a man who gave all the best effort he could ever spend in his life. His glasses were missing. Again.

What a day.

[cut because: I don't know why they would be in this situation.]

* * *

3

Verde does go out regularly. To the local farmer's market. You know. Support your local farmers and all. The locals know Verde well enough to move on with short greetings.

"Hey, Verde," someone called out to him. It was good ol' Miguel.

"Miguel. Hello," Verde greeted.

"Good harvest," Miguel said as he held out two boxes of cucumbers.

"Thank you," Verde accepted the boxes.

That was it. They stood before one another for a moment. For some reason, Verde felt like taking a picture of Miguel. To commemorate the day he received two boxes of cucumbers. Miguel let him. Yup. They went their separate ways after that.

Once Verde got back to his base, he looked at Keiman and asked, "What do I do with two whole boxes of cucumber?" Who knows.

[cut because: didn't fit anywhere.]

* * *

4

"REBORN! HELP!" Ah yes. Reborn just loves to be interrupted by the screams of a young doctor. Maybe if he ignores it, the screams will stop.

"REBORN!? DON'T IGNORE ME! WHAT IF I DIE!?" the scream continued.

"If you die, the screams will stop," Reborn shot back. Why is he screaming?

"PLEASE!"

"All right, fine! What?" Reborn got up to see what the ruckus was all about. Out in the hall was Shamal, the young doctor. Who was crawling away from… Verde?

"Ah! What a pleasant surprise, Verde! What brings you here?" If Verde was involved, then it had to be interesting!

"Reborn. Hello. A surprise, yes," Verde greeted back.

"You know this psycho!?" Shamal yelled up from his hiding spot behind Reborn. Not that the baby's body could hide him.

"There seems to be a problem. Care to elaborate, Verde? Perhaps I could be of use," Reborn ignored the doctor.

"WHAT!? Don't help him! He's trying to kill me!" Shamal begged. Yup. Begged. He was desperate.

"Ah, well. I've heard of a doctor-assassin person who has six-hundred-sixty-six diseases that cancel each other out. I just wanted to see this person," Verde explained. He just wanted to see.

"He's doing more than seeing, Reborn! He wants to cut me apart and run sick experiments on me!" Shamal accused.

"Are you?" Reborn asked.

"No. I want some samples. That's all," Verde answered.

"That's no problem then! Shamal, give him some samples."

"You're taking his side!?" Shamal cried out. How could he?! Betrayed!

"Do you want to sleep with the looming threat of Verde popping out unexpectedly to knock you out and take your samples, or do you want to just get it over with and deal with just the usual threat of mafia?" Reborn reasoned. Good reasons, yeah?

"... Okay…" That was that, and Verde promptly left with a short farewell.

"So, who was that?" Shamal asked once he calmed down enough.

Reborn smirked. That can't be good. Nope. Smirking babies are no good at all.

"Oh, you know," the baby began, "that was just Verde. You know. One of the mafia's great mysteries."

"Hey, just get to it, will ya?"

"That was Delta-" Shamal cut him off by choking on his spit.

[cut because: didn't fit anywhere.]

* * *

5\. If Verde wasn't late

Here comes Verde through the door. Heck! He tripped! Well, good thing no one saw that!

That's a lie. Everyone saw. Look at them. They're probably laughing at you. So humiliating! It's time for you to go, Verde. Go home. This is enough.

So Verde swiftly turned around and left, leaving everyone to stare after him in confusion.

* * *

6\. If Verde was easily flustered

"Great wrok, Verde!" Fon smiled at Verde. He was only trying to assure Verde that nothing went wrong. He didn't know Verde would react so extremely.

Verde got into battle stance. Heck. What? Now he's charging. At Fon. Heck!

That day, Fon learned Verde's response to compliments was to get rid of the source.

* * *

7\. If Verde just. Didn't show up

"Why didn't you show up at the meeting?" Checkerface asked Verde. He showed up in Verde's base like an insect. Out of nowhere.

"You. _You_. You. You. You," Verde said in a variety of tones. He was fed up with this bullshit.

"Why would I show up to some meeting arranged by a suspicious stranger like you? You could be some sick madman who experiments on people and takes their organs to sell to the black market. You could be some sort of mastermind in a grand scheme of the world. You could be planning things behind everyone's backs like no big deal and ruin everyone's lives because you have some sort of grudge against humanity-" Verde continued to spout strange nonsense for a few more minutes. During that time, Checkerface decided to quietly leave and try again another time.

* * *

8\. If there was no Delta

"Anyone know how to hack? This system appears to be a top-notch security system," Lal told the group. Verde sort of volunteered after no one said anything.

'...? Top-notch my ass. This is… so full of holes. Anyone can get through this!' he thought. One minute later, he was in.

"I'm in," said Verde.

"WHAT?!" yelled everyone.


End file.
